The Kaduna State Government has dismissed 233 teachers for providing forged certificates during their recruitment process.
Tijani Abdullahi, Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, announced during a press conference in Kaduna on Thursday.
He claimed that the teachers were dismissed following inquiries from the institutions they claimed to have attended, which revealed they had presented falsified certificates.
According to the SUBEB Chairman, the decision to investigate the teachers’ certificates began in April 2021 as part of the Board’s responsibility to ensure that all teachers have the qualifications they presented.
According to him, the main goal of the exercise is to ensure that all of our teachers have the necessary credentials that constitute the fundamental qualifications for employment as teachers.
According to the Kaduna SUBEB Chairman, 451 certificates have been verified so far by contacting the institutions that awarded the certificates, with nine of the 13 institutions contacted responding.
“So far, the Board has verified 451certificates by contacting the institutions that awarded the certificates. Nine of the 13 institutions contacted have responded, as of today,” he said.
“The responses from the institutions show that 233 teachers presented fake certificates. This represents 51% of the 451 certificates on which responses have been received from the awarding institutions. One institution disowned 212 of these 233 fake certificates.
“The Board will dismiss the 233 teachers who presented these fake certificates, while their files will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to initiate prosecution for forgery. The Board will continue to check the integrity of the certificates presented by teachers to ensure that this critical profession is not devalued by impostors.
“As part of our duty of transparency, the names of the 233 teachers found to have presented fake certificates will be uploaded on the website of the Kaduna State Government today.”
The Board also announced that beginning in January 2022; it will administer a new competency test to 12,254 teachers as part of its ongoing assessment of teachers for their development as well as for better learning delivery.
It will be recalled that the Kaduna State Government hired 25,000 new teachers in 2017 after dismissing over 22,000 unqualified ones following a competency review.
